DC Round Two – Part 3: Ford’s Theatre, National Mall, Rock Creek Park, and Clara Barton National Historic Site

Alas, my final post of my final day of my crazy trip trying to get all of the National Park Service units visited in the DC region!

September 16, 2023

DC is an absolute ghost town at 8:15am on a Saturday. It is a bit bizarre to be in a place where hotels are cheaper on the weekends than a weekday, to be fair. But this made a crowd-free mile walk from my hotel (the Hampton Inn near the White House) to Ford’s Theatre all that more pleasant!

A few weeks before my trip I booked a 9am tour at Ford’s Theatre, excited to get a tour that included a theatre walkthrough. (Tickets are available in advance for $3.50, or are free if you want to risk walk-up availability, and function more or less as a timed entry to the theatre and also Petersen House across the street – aka The House Where Lincoln Died.) I gave myself about thirty minutes to wander over from my hotel, and arrived early enough I had time to stamp my passport at the ticket office window before queuing in the line that starts outdoor for the tour.

It gives food to thought the idea of visiting places of morbid tragedy, which many National Park Service units encompass, and Ford’s Theatre is one of those as the place where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Learning and remembering history is important, but it was also very weird view Lincoln’s bloodstained pillow, peer in where he was shot, and see the exact bed he died in, knowing these events on April 14, 1865 forever changed the course of United States history.

The tour, which is more of a self-guided timed entry permit than anything, first started in the underground museum, which is a VERY detailed museum that covers all aspects of Lincoln’s life, the Civil War, and other history from that area. There is also a gift shop (with more passport stamps!) down there as well. I started with the passport stamps, and then went to take a look at the gun that was used in the assassination (lots of debate about this display), before wandering around the extensive exhibits. I’m not much for war history, so I skipped reading a lot of the Civil War panels. One could easily spend a hefty amount of time viewing everything in the museum if they wanted!

After about thirty minutes, we were allowed upstairs into the theatre. Apparently in the high season, people are not allowed to line up and view into the booth where Lincoln was shot, but according to the volunteer we were part of “the lucky 20%” that got to do so! There is plexiglass stopping you from actually entering the booth, but it at least allows a viewing opportunity.

The volunteer gave a bit of a talk, and I listened for awhile in a theatre seat before heading out of Ford’s Theatre and across the street to the Petersen House. This was a brief walkthrough to see the room and actual bed Lincoln died in, before taking an elevator to an exhibit detailing the aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination.

Prior to trip my I had read that a trip through Ford’s Theatre would take several hours, so I did not pack my itinerary for this day. However, it was only an hour long visit for me – of course, like I said, I didn’t not read every exhibit panel in the museums. With a few hours to spare before my 12pm hotel check out, I decided to walk down to the National Mall to nab some more passport stamps and to see the Lockkeeper’s House and Constitution Garden.

After scarfing down some DC Grilled Cheese Bar, I checked out of my hotel room about 11:50am, and sat in the lobby to debate what to do next. I was feeling icky about claiming my walk through a parking lot as a visit to Rock Creek Park, so I decided on taking an Uber up to the nature center there to get some stamps and set foot in the park proper, before heading over to Clara Barton National Historic Site on the way to Dulles airport.

Spanning 1,754 acres, Rock Creek Park is a urban nature gem and was the third national park established, becoming authorized in 1890. I was a bit sad I had my big backpack and all my stuff with me, as it limited my activities to the Nature Center and just a short walk instead of some proper hiking and exploring.

After entirely too short of a visit to Rock Creek Park, it was time to make my final stop on my NPS unit quest on this trip! Located in Glen Echo, Maryland, Clara Barton National Historic Site preserves the house that Clara Barton lived in the final fifteen years of her life.

The house is only open for guided tours of the first floor only on the hour on Fridays-Sundays (the second and third floors are closed due to structural concerns… scary!). I showed up a bit late, and found Ranger Kevin in the middle of a tour with one other person. I stamped my passport books, and Ranger Kevin invited me to join in. He gave a good overview of Clara Barton’s life, which includes so much more than her being the founder of the American Red Cross (for example, she started the first public school in New Jersey!). After the tour ended, Ranger Kevin kindly took the time to show me what I missed and we had a good chat about the Johnstown Flood (which Barton responded to and an event that I am a descendant of a survivor of).

The site is not furnished, and it sounds like it will be closing in the near future for much needed renovations. You definitely feel the age of the building! I did not take any photos of the interior as I was engaged with the ranger and tour, which I kind of kick myself for now as it had unique features like muslin fabric on the ceiling (Barton was a thrifty woman!) and storage cabinets that are built into the walls that look identical to ones I have in the basement of my 1940s home.

Ranger Kevin encouraged me to go check out Glen Echo Park before leaving, so I made the short walk over there. Administered by the NPS under the George Washington Memorial Parkway unit, Glen Echo Park was founded in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly. In 1911, it was converted to an amusement park that operated until 1968. Honestly, I found the whole vibe to be a bit creepy feeling, but maybe that was due to the non-stop music from the carousel! I grabbed the passport stamps and headed on my way.

I took a big sigh of relief that I finished out my first region of the National Park Service units, and ending with 72 overall. DC sure provides an easy bang-for-your-buck when it comes to unit chasing… and I’ll never have it this easy again! And with that… it was time to head to Dulles airport, and the Boeing 777 that would fly me back home! Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia all within 12 hours – air travel is a marvel!!